This invention relates generally to a bottle closure-cup assembly, and in particular to a bottle closure cup which fits over a rotatably-removable bottle cap and which may be removed independently or in combination with the cap.
Various closure cups for a container and cap assembly employing a cup are known in the art. For example, one such recent development is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,150,761 to Herbert Collins issued on Apr. 24, 1979 and assigned to the assignee of the subject application. In this assembly, a cup is provided with a plurality of inwardly projecting ribs which force-fit into engagement with the roughened outer surface of the bottle cap. At least two of the ribs are formed with a projecting seat for securing over the bottle cap and limits the engagement between the ribs and bottle cap.
Other assemblies shown in the art often include closure cups which are secured releasably on the top of a decanter or a vacuum or insulated bottle assembly. One such assembly is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,584,522 to S. J. Wolf, wherein a cup fits snuggly about a gasket secured to the neck of a container. In a typical vacuum bottle assembly the cup is secured to the bottle assembly by a separate thread assembly formed about the bottle neck or a locking mechanism which secures the cup about the neck of the container. In these cases, both the cup and the cap cannot be removed in a single operation. The cup is removed independently from the separately secured bottle cap used to close the bottle. When it is desired to open the bottle in these assemblies, the cup must be removed first, and then the bottle cap may be removed. However, it is often desirable to remove both the cup and the bottle cap as a unit in order to reach the contents of the bottle. In addition, the cup must be sized for a particular bottle and neck and is not interchangable with other bottle sizes even if the bottle cap is interchangeable.
The Collins construction has been found to be acceptable for use with certain size bottles wherein it is desirable to remove the cap independently or in combination with the bottle cap. However, it is desirable to provide an improved construction suitable for use with generally larger size bottles. When dealing with larger size bottles the ribs in the Collins type construction tend to deflect. Accordingly, it is desirable to provide an alternative construction which avoids difficulties encountered with the conventional constructions.